Winding and stretching attachment for wire fences



J. 5. BROWN 3,356,341

AND STRBTCHING ATTACHMENT FOR WIRE FENCES Dec. 5, 1967 WINDING FiledFeb.

2 Sheets-Shem 1 Jack 5. Brawn INVENTOR.

STRETCHING ATTACHMENT FOR WIRE FENCES J. 5. BROWN Dec. 5, 1967 WINDINGAND 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb.

III

Jack 5. Bra wn INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,356,341 WINDING AND STRETCHING ATTACHMENT FORWIRE FENCES Jack S. Brown, 403 Elm St, Clyde, Tex. 79510 Filed Feb. 9,1967, Ser. No. 614,881 6 Claims. (Cl. 254-64) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA power operated winding attachment for tractors having power hitch anddrive take-off mechanisms. A hitch supported platform mounts a commonshaft assembly carrying a wire stretching reel and a removable spool ofbarbed wire driven from the power take-off of the tractor.

Background of the invention This invention relates to the constructionof barbed wire fences and more particularly to an attachment for tractorvehicles through which barbed wire is unreeled and stretched during theconstruction of a barbed wire fence.

In connection with the construction of barbed wire fences, the handlingof the spools of barbed wire from which the barbed wire is unreeled andtacked to the fence posts, presents a problem as well as a hazardbecause of the injury that may result from uncontrolled coiling of thewire. Thus, many prior art wire reeling or winding attachments areunsatisfactory for barbed wire type of fence construction. Further,prior art wire winding attachments do not provide facilities for bothcontrollably unreeling and stretching barbed wire as well as toaccommodate easy replacement of exhausted spools of barbed wire.

Summary of the invention In accordance with the present inventiontherefore, an attachment is provided for tractor towing vehicles havinga power take-01f drive whereby barbed wire may be controllably unreeledand maintained under constant tension. Toward this end, the attachmentincludes a shaft assembly having one or more removable sectionsfacilitating the removable mounting of spools of barbed wire, the shaftassembly being positively driven from the power takeoff through a rightangle drive. Thus, barbed wire may be unwound from its spool while thevehicle is stationary.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide an attachmentfor towing vehicles such as tractors having a shaft assembly includingremovable shaft sections keyed together by an element which is rotatablysupported by a hinge bearing so as to facilitate disassembly of theshaft sections and removable mounting of spools of barbed wire thereon.The shaft assembly may also permanently mount a rewinding or stretchingreel to which the barbed wire may be anchored.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

Brief description of the drawing figures FIG. 1 is a top plan viewshowing the attachment of the present invention in use and associatedwith a tractor vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially through a plane indicatedby section line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substan- 3,356,341 PatentedDec. 5, 1967 Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now tothe drawings in detail, the winding attachment generally denoted byreference numeral 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, is shown in trailing relation toa towing vehicle such as a conventional tractor 12 having a universalpower take-off shaft 14 and a power operated, three-point hitchmechanism including the lower lift arms 16 and the upper link arm 18 towhich the attachment is hitched.

The attachment 10 includes a platform 20 supported in spaced relationabove the ground by the hitch mechanism. A pair of pivot brackets 22 arefixed to the platform adjacent the forward edge 24 thereof in laterallyspaced relation to each other so as to be pivotally connected to thelower lift arms 16 of the hitch mechanism. A standard 26 is also fixedlymounted on the platform between the pivot brackets 22 so as to establisha pivotal connection 28 to the upper link arm 18 of the hitch mechanism.The platform is thereby supported in a horizontal position adjustablyspaced above the ground by means of the hitch mechanism in accordancewith the load imposed thereon in a manner well known. Barbed wire 30 mayextend rearwardly from the platform for attachment to fence posts 32,the wire being guided over a guide rod 34 supported at opposite ends bythe arms 36 hinged to the platform 20 by the hinge brackets 38 adjacentthe rear edge 40. When not in use, the guide rod may be pivotallyretracted to the position as shown by dotted line in FIG. 2.

Rotatably mounted about a common horizontal axis spaced above thelatform 20, is a shaft assembly which includes a plurality of shaftsections 42, 44 and 46, as more clearly seen in FIG. 3. A plurality oflaterally spaced journal brackets 48, 50, 52 and 54 are mounted on theplatform and extend upwardly therefrom. The shaft section 42 isrotatably supported between the journal brackets 48 and 50 by means of apair of permanent bearing assemblies 56 and 58 respectively mounted ontop of the journal brackets 48 and 50. Hinged bearing assemblies 60 and62 are mounted on top of the journal brackets 52 and 54 in order torotatably support the other shaft sections 44 and 46. Each of the hingedbearing assemblies as more clearly seen in FIG. 8, is pivotallyconnected by a hinge 64 to the top of its journal bracket so that it maybe pivotally displaced from the solid line position to the dotted lineposition. In this manner, the shaft section 44 or 46 may be removed fromthe shaft assembly in order to replace or install a spool 66 of barbedwire. When assembled, the shaft sections 44 and 46 are keyed to eachother by means of an interconnecting key element 68 the opposite ends ofwhich are provided with noncircular projections 70 received withinnon-circular sockets 72 in the adjacent ends of the shaft sections 44and 46. The key element 68 is rotatably supported by the hinged bearingassembly 60 disposed axially between the shaft sections 44 and 46.Removable fastener assemblies 74 hold the hinged bearing assemblies inplace during use of the attachment.

Each of the removable shaft sections 44 and 46 has a non-circular sleeve76 secured thereto by setscrew fasteners 78 so as to removably mountthereon a spool 66 for rotation with the shaft assembly. One or morespools may be mounted on the shaft assembly by means of the removableshaft sections 44 and 46. The shaft section 42 on the other handpermanently mounts adjacent the end bearing assembly 56, a rewinding orstretching reel 80 to which the barbed wire may be anchored by means ofan anchor slot 82 for example. The barbed wire may thereby be rewound orstretched as shown in FIG. 6. Also mounted on the shaft section 42between the reel 80 and the bearing assembly 58, is a right angle driveassembly generally referred to by reference numeral 84.

The drive assembly includes a gear housing 86 fixedly mounted on theplatform 20 by the bracket 88 through which the shaft section 42extends. A driven bevel gear 90 is secured to the shaft sections and isin driving engagement with a drive bevel gear (not shown) to which theuniversal power take-off shaft 14 is drivingly connected. It will beapparent therefore, that rotation may be imparted to the shaft assemblywhile the vehicle is stationary at a forward or reverse speed ratio tothe output of the power plant associated with the tractor vehicle.Further, because of the constant gear connection between the shaftassembly of the attachment and the power take-off drive mechanism, anywire being unwound or rewound will be maintained under constant tension.This attribute of the attachment is of particular significance sincebarbed wire has a tendency to coil and weave about making it verydangerous should tension be relieved at any time. It will be apparenttherefore that the attachment of the present invention will beparticularly useful in connection with the various operations inbuilding barbed wire fences including the unreeling and stretching ofbarbed wire.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a towing vehicle having a load supporting hitchmechanism and a power take-off, a winding and stretching attachment forbarbed wire comprising, a platform supported by the hitch mechanismabove the ground, a shaft assembly having a plurality of separablesections keyed to each other, means journaling said shaft assembly onthe platform about a common axis, a stretching reel connected to one ofsaid shaft sections having means for anchoring barbed wire thereto,means mounted by at least another of the shaft sections for removablyreceiving a spool of barbed wire, and gear means mounted on the platformfor drivingly connecting the shaft assembly to the power take-off tocontrollably rotate said stretching reel and said spool about the commonaxis while the vehicle is stationary.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said journaling means for theshaft assembly includes, permanent bearing means rotatably supportingthe shaft section to which the stretching reel is connected, and hingedbearing means rotatably supporting the other shaft section.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said shaft assembly furtherincludes a key element removably mounted by said hinged bearing meansand slidably interconnecting adjacent shaft sections.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said gear means comprises a rightangle gear drive connected to the shaft section to which the stretchingreel is connected.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said gear means comprises a rightangle gear drive connected to the shaft section to which the stretchingreel is connected.

6. In combination with a towing vehicle having a load supporting hitchmechanism and a power take-off, a winding and stretching attachment forbarbed wire comprising, a platform supported by the hitch mechanismabove the ground, a shaft assembly, means journaling said shaft assemblyon the platform about a horizontal axis, a stretching reel connected tothe shaft assembly, a spool of barbed wire, means removably mountingsaid spool on the shaft assembly and right angle drive means drivinglyconnecting the shaft assembly to the power take-off for controllablyrotating the reel and spool and holding the barbed wire under tension atall times.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,914,270 11/1959 Parker et al.254-64X 3,072,357 1/1963 Sprague et a1. 242-86.5 3,107,877 10/1963Weaklend 242--86.5 3,128,962 4/1964 Bieber 24286.5 3,227,393 1/1966Misegadis 242-865 MILTON S. MEHR, Primary Examiner.

6. IN COMBINATION WITH A TOWING VEHICLE HAVING A LOAD SUPPORTING HITCHMECHANISM AND A POWER TAKE-OFF, A WINDING AND STRETCHING ATTACHMENT FORBARBED WIRE COMPRISING, A PLATFORM SUPPORTED BY THE HITCH MECHANISMABOVE THE GROUND, A SHAFT ASSEMBLY, MEANS JOURNALING SAID SHAFT ASSEMBLYON THE PLATFORM ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A STRETCHING REEL CONNECTED TOTHE SHAFT ASSEMBLY, A SPOOL OF BARBED WIRE, MEANS REMOVABLY MOUNTINGSAID SPOOL ON THE SHAFT ASSEMBLY AND RIGHT ANGLE DRIVE MEANS DRIVINGLYCONNECTING THE SHAFT ASSEMBLY TO THE POWER TAKE-OFF FOR CONTROLLABLYROTATING THE REEL AND SPOOL AND HOLDING THE BARBED WIRE UNDER TENSION ATALL TIMES.